TED Radio Hour asks: “Why do we collaborate?”

This week’s TED Radio Hour examines “Why We Collaborate,” exploring why, and how, millions of people come together to work on online projects, sometimes for free.

The episode begins with Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, who spoke at TEDGlobal 2005, back when the site was still very new. The incredible growth of Wikipedia since then not only illustrates the range of people who contribute to it, but how mass collaboration can improve the world in increments. Next, Luis Von Ahn approaches a similar problem from a slightly different perspective. His project Duolingo teaches students languages by getting them to translate the web, a daunting project. He suggests that some form of return, like learning a language, is necessary to get people to give up their free time.

The conversation continues with Clay Shirky, who advocates for a more productive use of the 35 hours per…